Device for converting atoms



y 6, 1941. WQ'SCHUTZE 2,240,914

DEVICE FOR CONVERTING ATOMS Filed May 20. 1939 Patented May 6, 1941 DEVICE FOR CONVERTING ATOMS Werner Schiitze, Berlin-Spandau, Germany, as-

slgnor to Fldes Gesellschaft fiir die verwaltung und 'Verwertung von xltwerblichen Schlitzrechten mit beschrilnkter Haftung, Berlin, Germany, a. corporation of Germany Application May 20, 1939, Serial No. 274,734 In Germany May 520, 1938 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for converting atoms, in which rapidly traveling ions "are caused to act on certain substances such as deuterium (heavy hydrogen) forinstance in order to produce neutrons.

According to the invention such a. device 'comprises a discharge unit havingan anode'a'ndfan electron source, a grid whichsurroundsthe dis:--

charge unit and is impressed with a negative.

potential withjlggpect t the cathodeand an acceleration electrode,- preferably of cylindrical.

- shape which is impressed with a high negative voltage. The inner surface of the' last-named electrode is provided with the substance on which the ions are caused to act. Theflrst-mehtioned discharge unit, which is ,design'ated inthefollowing description as an auxiliary dischargedevice, serves to supply the positiveions to the fmain dischargeipassing. through; the grid to "the acceleration electrodel The negatively; biased grid-surrounding the auxiliary. discharge device consists preferably of a cylindrical netting or of a perforated sheet metal cylinder. This grid pre .Hg. is maintained, in the vessel. The'heavy hyvents the electrons, contained in .the plasma of "the auxiliary dischargefromenteringthe space 'between the grid and the outeiffelectrodeywhile the ions m y pass throughthe'gridope'nings into this space and are considerably.accelerated Accordingly, the inner surface of the acceleration electrode is formed of such a substance.

The drawing illustrates diagrammatically an embodiment of the invention, and'shows in Fig. 1 a longitudinal cross section through a discharge device according to the invention, and in Fig. 2 the wiring diagram of the electrodes of the same device, identical reference numbers being used in both figures for designating corresponding '10:

electrodes.

,In Fig. l, l denotes the electron source of the auxiliary discharge device andconsists, for instance, of a.- hollow cathode provided with a spiral heating element, and 2 denotes the anode in the form of a hollow cylinder. The grid 3 consists of a perforated cylinder or a netting which fully surrounds the auxiliary dischargegap. 5 is the acceleration electrode, the inner surface of which is to be provided with the substances to be converted. :The acceleration electrode 5 is surrounded by a cooling jacket. The cooling water is supplied through a nipple l3 and leavesthe jacket at It. A gas pressure of 0.01 to 0.1 mm.

drogen is introduced through a conduit I into a cap 6 of the vessel, the cap 6 consisting, for instance, of glass. ,The other capB- isprovided therein.. .The distance between the grid and the negative acceleration electrcdekirnust be chosen so small that a, gas discha'rgegcannot occur therein. y

The known ion ray tubes diil'er considerably from the tube accordingto the invention in that a relatively fine stream of ions is produced by means of a high acceleration voltage, whereas according to the invention an intense stream of ions is caused to uniformly act on a large surface, the electrons emitting from the cathode in all directions being utilized for the production of ion rays. The difliculties incidental to the continuousmaintenance of a high vacuum within the acceleration chamber are also removed by the present invention.

The voltage employed and the other electrical data of the devices according to the invention will hereinafter be explained in connection with the drawing.

The substance to be acted upon by the rapidly traveling ions, for instance heavy hydrogen, must be so applied that it covers the inner surface of the acceleration electrode. To this end, the known capability of certain substances, such as carbon in liquid air, palladium, tantalum or zirconium, to adsorb hydrogen, may be utilized.

with'a tube 9 to be connected with a pump.

As apparent;from Fig. 2, the cathode I and anode 2 are connected toxa battery II. The grid 3 is connected to a battery Land the acceleration electrode 5 to a high-voltage source l2. The

different voltage sources are so connected that the acceleration electrode has a negative potential relative to the auxiliary discharge, and thus forms the cathode of the main discharge gap. The negative grid voltage supplied by the battery l0 may have a magnitude between 10 and 50 volts. The anode voltage for the auxiliary discharge, this voltage being supplied by the battery ll, amounts, for instance, to to 300 volts. The intensity of the current flowing in the anode circuitvaries from 1 to 50 amperes depending upon the size of the tube and the voltage applied to the latter. Finally, the high-voltage supplied from source l2 to the acceleration electrode (cathode 5) has a magnitude of, for instance, 10 to 50 kv. The intensity of the currents flowing in the cathode circuit is between 0.1 and 5 amperes. The distance between the grid 3 and cathode 6 is, for instance, about 2 mm. Other voltage and current values may be chosen, depending upon the desired production of neutrons or the like, for which currents are required whose positive ions have a given size and speed.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for irradiating substances with ions, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, 8. grid surrounding said discharges and extending from said cathode to said anode over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing on said grid a potential negative with respect to said gas discharge, and an acceleration high-voltage cathode closely surrounding said grid, said latter cathode having its inner surface provided with the substance to be irradiated by the ions passing through said grid.

2. An apparatus for treating substances with fast ions, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, a cylindrical grid surrounding said gas discharge and extending over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing said grid with a potential negative with respect to that of said cathode, an acceleration high-voltage cathode of cylindrical shape surrounding said arid. the

distance between said grid and said acceleration cathode being smaller than that required for producing a gas discharge, and conduit means connected with said acceleration cathode for passing the substance to be treated over the inner surface of said acceleration cathode. I

3. An apparatus for irradiating a substance with fast ions, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, a grid surrounding said discharge and extending from said cathode to said anode over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing a potential to said grid negative with respect to said discharge, an acceleration highvoltage cathode in the shape of a cylinder closely surrounding said grid and having its inner surface at least partly formed of adsorptive material capable of 'holding the substance to be irradiated.

4. An apparatus for producing neutrons by causing fast ions to act on heavy hydrogen, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, a cylindrical grid surrounding said discharge and extending over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing said grid with a potential negative with respect to that of said cathode, an acceleration high-voltage cathode of cylindrical shape surrounding said grid, the distance be- 'stitial space between said tween said grid and said acceleration cathode being smaller than that required for producing a gas discharge, said cylindrical cathode having its inner surface formed of deuterium-adsorbing material, and conduit means connected with said vessel and communicating with the interstice between said grid and said acceleration cathode for passing heavy hydrogen through said interstice during the operation of the apparatus.

5. An apparatus for causing fast ions to act on a substance, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, a cylindrical grid surrounding said discharge and extending over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing said grid with a potential negative with respect to that ofsaid cathode, an acceleration high-voltage cathode of cylindrical shape surrounding said grid and having an inner surface capable of adsorbing the substance to be acted upon, the distance between said grid and said acceleration cathode being smaller than that requiredfor producing a gas discharge, and said acceleration cathode torming part ofa double-walled cooling chamber having conduit means for passing cooling liquid therethrough, and conduit meansforz passingthe substance to be acted upon through said vessel, said conduit means being in open communication with the intergrid and said acceleration cathode.

6. In an apparatus according to claim 1, said acceleration cathode having an inner surface portion consisting of metal selected from the group of palladium, tantalum, and zirconium.

7. In an apparatus according to claim 1, the gas atmosphere in said discharge vessel having a pressure of about 0.01 to 0.1 mm. Hg.

8. An apparatus for producing neutrons by irradiating deuterium with fast ions, comprising a discharge vessel, a cathode and an anode in said vessel for producing a gas discharge forming the source of the ions, a grid surrounding said discharge and extending from said cathode to said anode over the entire length of said discharge, means for impressing on said grid a potential negative with respect to said gas discharge, and an acceleration high-voltage cathode closely surrounding said grid, said latter cathode having its inner surface provided with an absorbent carbon coating capable of holding the deuterium to be irradiated.

WERNER scmi'rzn. 

